About this album

I love the whole symphony but from the second movement two favorite moments, two details, spring to mind. First, the recapitulation when the solo violin takes flight, like a buzzing bee around a flower, and then accidentally finds itself in a wonderful modulation to E major. The second is the ending. The flowers, that move and dance elegantly against the wind, suddenly expose their Tristan-like soul. From the vast first movement I would choose the huge, yawning creature’s (Pan’s?) first appearance. Conducting the Scherzo I am always carried away by the inserted episodes which interrupt the post horn – first by a group of baroque birds, then rococo ones flying up from the pages of a Mozart piano concerto. What an ingenious and unpredictable use of different styles! Finally, the endless melody of the last movement moves me every time with its intimate beauty and honesty. There is something divine in the wealth of this great masterpiece. Iván Fischer

Reviews

musicweb-international [Recording of the Month - May 2017]

I’ve not been lucky with recordings of this symphony in recent years, so the unfolding loveliness of this performance is cause for celebration. How beguiling those Wunderhorn tunes, and how honestly shaped those simple phrases; indeed, how refreshing his view of this opener as a whole. Not since Levine and Abbado have I heard the closing bars sound so exhilarating. As for the playing – disciplined, weighty and with necessary heft when it matters most – it simply confirms the BFO as one of the world’s truly great ensembles.
Without question, the finest instalment in Fischer’s Mahler cycle to date; and what breathtaking sound. Romberger sounding exceptionally full and rounded in her solo. The BFO percussion are also uncommonly well rendered, but then everything about Channel’s recordings speaks of the highest musical and technical values.

admire its restraint, its eloquence, its distinctive voice

A Great New Mahler Third From Fischer & Co.
"Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra deliver the goods"...
"Here is an account of the finale that never lets down the show, and it’s impossible to exaggerate just how impressive an achievement that is."...
Channel Classics’ sonics are typical of this source: warm, well balanced, in an ample acoustic that swallows some of the higher frequencies (glockenspiel, triangle, piccolo) but flatters the strings and copes ideally with the larger climaxes. Fischer’s Mahler hasn’t all been equally great, but when he’s on, as here, he has few peers today.

BBC Music Magazine

Always alive, always interesting, vivid in sound

The Times

Beyond that technical glow and finesse, Fischer supplies something more elusive: a relaxed grasp of the symphony's swings, roundabouts and clashing moods. (...) Our conductor almost seems as wide-eyed as Mahler, letting everything in the world fall into
place, from ominous funeral march to gracious minuet, from Pan's awakening to God's love, serenely celebrated in the final lingering adagio, beautifully played here. (...) I rest my case with a smile on my face: this is the best of Fischer's Mahler cycle so far.

Bay Area Reporter: Best of 2017

In this biz we avoid saying "words can't describe," but Ivan Fischer's primordial Mahler Third with his Budapest Festival Orchestra (Channel Classics) was just shockingly good

The Sunday Times

(..) one marvels anew at the fresh, pristine quality of these Hungarian musicians (...) singing legato and tonal depth of the strings (...) wit and vitality of the woodwinds (...) deeply moving (...)

A glorious achievement, certainly the jewel in the Fischer/ Budapest crown, and not just recommended-but demanded to be heard! 5 Glorious Stars, Stewart Crowe.

HRAudio.net

Those who have enjoyed Fischer's earlier Mahler recordings will need no urging to acquire this one. In both musical and sonic terms it provides a further criterion for past and future recordings of this symphony.
(...) Finally it is the superb state-of-the-art sound quality achieved by Jared Sacks in the fine acoustic of the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Palace of Arts, Budapest. The 5.0 channel DSD recording providing almost unrivalled realism, clarity and impact to the music – essential in Mahler. (...)

Gramophone [Editor's Choice - June 2017]

Here for once is a Mahler symphony release that feels different from the outset.(...) I doubt whether there has ever been a more precisely focused, more sheerly beautiful recording of any Mahler work. (...) Reluctant to parade its roughest edges and disinclined to hurry, Fischer instead elicits a range of pristine, jewel-like colour that leaves its fabric refreshed. (...) This Third is a must-have.

The question is whether the Budapest orchestra has ever been better: silky streaks, clear and expressive wooden blades and an impressive burst of brass and with beautifully trimmed trombone solon. Everything sounds like an excellent soundtrack, so often with Channel Classics, and I immerse myself in a dreamy, cinematic mood that gives an enjoyable listening experience.

The New York Times: The Best 25 Classical Music Recordings of 2017

Every moment of this recording is fresh and insightful, traits we have now come to expect from Mr. Fisher. But it is the finale, Mahler’s ode to love, that pulls at the memory — a miracle of phrasing; a quiet wonder of string tone and balance; a paean to a devotion tender, fragile and deep.

(…) this latest release of Mahler's mighty 3rd Symphony, recorded in September 2016, will further cement his reputation as one of the most charismatic Mahler conductors of our time.
Finally it is the superb state-of-the-art sound quality achieved by Jared Sacks in the fine acoustic of the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Palace of Arts, Budapest. The 5.0 channel DSD recording providing almost unrivalled realism, clarity and impact to the music – essential in Mahler.

Musical Toronto

(…) the Budapest Festival Orchestraare,as ever, full of character and guile.

Audiophile Magazine, Italy

a challenging account of this masterwork that should be heard (...)
Clarity and definition are superb, which is very important given Fischer’s penchant for elucidating and clarifying instrumental lines and even in extended forte passages each section of the orchestra can still be heard. Very importantly unlike any other form of digital sound DSD256 almost approaches analogue in its ability to capture instrumental timbres and there is a palpable sense of presence.

Jared Sacks of Channel Classics, Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra continue to unfold the Mahler cycle, this time with the third. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful realization of this fruitful collaboration that I have been able to listen to date.
Mahler's Third symphony, like Beethoven's ninth, is a work unlike any other. It is extremely long (an hour and a half) and explores in depth the field of possibilities, pushing the boundaries of the traditional genre of the symphony. Gustav Mahler had also confided that the symphony represented to him the possibility of building a universe with all the means of the available technique. The sound and recording quality of this new album is as usual excellent. The use of DSD recording is an obvious reason why.
It is from the beginning of this Mahler cycle by Ivan Fischer that one is free to adhere or not to this particular style. And while I love Bernstein's muscular strength, I'm also a fan of what Fischer's Mahler offers.
Fischer brings a crazy elegance, an absolute precision of contrasts, detail and rhythm, which does not have to be constantly in the demonstrative to testify to the dramaturgy or power that resides in the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. These qualities remain intact until the final movement. Some people will criticize a lack of energy in the last movement, but it is in my opinion a heresy. The final movement must be a logical and coherent sequence of the first five movements. Without doubt this version of the Mahler 3rd is one to possess among a very rich discography. And that would be a shame to miss.

The Bay Area Reporter Online

Fischer’s reading wipes the slate clean

Musicweb International [Recordings of the Year 2017]

(…) this is a performance that provides a glorious and compelling contrast to other loved versions the work you may have.

The Arts Desk

And what a finale: Fischer's flowing speeds avoiding any hint of bombast, the final cadence unforced and radiant. Everyone needs multiple recordings of this symphony. Add this new one to the pile.

Artists

Technical Specifications

Album Cover

560

Speakers

Grimm LS1

Digital To Analog Converter

Pyramix

Mastering Equiment

Pyramix

Mastering Engineer

The recording was originally digitized using the Grimm AD1, which operates at DSD64. The original session tracks were edited and rebalanced (which meant going through the mixer) in the only available format for that purpose; the Pyramix 352.8KHz/24bit PCM (DXD). Prior to the advent of direct digital delivery, the next step in the production process from 352.8KHz/24bit PCM would be the DSD64 edited master for SACD production. What we have done now is also make a direct conversion to DSD128 and DSD256 from that original DXD edited master, without going through any interim processing steps. Those DXD to DSD conversions are not up-samplings, as they would be going from one PCM sampling rate to another, for they are different encoding systems. PCM is a digital value sample based system, and DSD is a digital bit density modulated system. Conversion from any PCM sample rate to any DSD bit rate system is a remodulation, not an up-sampling. We feel there is an audio advantage to this process in using the original files so we give you the choice and you can decide. Jared Sacks